Lost: 86 pounds
I've been at it 100% since August 2010 , 50% commitment since January 2010.
From August through December I found it easier to not have ANY treats. Now I allow myself a treat every once in a while... but not the same type of treats. 2-3 times a week I eat a Nature valley granola Thin for a treat. It has a layer of chocolate, tastes yummy like a cookie and is only 80 calories. I had ice cream once. I had pizza once. I;ve had a couple of "cheat meals" consisting of hamburgers. Every once in a while I eat a couple of my kids tator tots. (I used to eat a meal of tator tots.)

I cannot wait to get my ticker either! So far I've lost 41.5lbs since January 11, 2011. I do not treat myself with food, and have yet to give myself something special for what I have already accomplished. I'm thinking of a pedicure in another week or two. I do, however, have tendencies to indulge on weekends, particularly Friday's for some reason. This past weekend was horrible, but I got back on track yesterday and plan to stay committed without any "cheats" for quite some time!

uhhhh I somehow lost 160 lbs? WTF? I keep checking the math cuz that can't be right, but it is!?! The first 50 was the hardest, after that it was just doing the same old thing day after day and the rest came off - not fast, mind you, took about 2 1/2 years total.

It's not my nature to completely revamp every single food item ~ some people are so good, and change up everything! like, no more pasta, only sauce on spaghetti squash, or they have a recipe for every sinful food to come up with a reasonable facsimile. That's not my style. I still like the good stuff, and have it once in a while. I never could get behind "diet food" with maybe the exception of diet salad dressing in a pinch. It just seems so fake and processed and not as healthy as people think. I'd rather have something delish, but 1/2 of it, rather than a frozen dinner or a 100 calorie pack that will never rot LOL

To me, Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners are worth the caloric price, so I budget for them, enjoy that meal immensely, then move on with my life. I don't make it a month-long feeding frenzy.

Mostly, I just stopped lying to myself. Stopped pretending that I was "trying" to lose, and just did it.

And as for treats, yes, I had a cookie every day I think. I know a lot of people can't do that or are afraid to try it, but I wanted to live my life a certain way, and I refused to be terrified of food my whole life. I didn't want it controlling me. For the first while, yes, I just plain avoided chocolate and ice cream etc. No one NEEDS that stuff to live, so I thought eliminating it entirely was the best solution. I quickly realized that treats exist everywhere, in every possible combination - the only constant in the equation was ME and MY reaction to them. So they don't scare me anymore! That's worth more to me than fitting in regular sized clothes almost!

As for rewards/treats for losing, I have a hard time getting my head around that. I mean, I ruined myself in the first place with 30 years of neglect; it's hard to accept rewards etc. for fixing what I broke in the first place.

i strongly believe, for me personally, i should not deprive myself.
if i want a treat, i know i should have it.
if not, i end up feeling like i'm 'ripped off'.
then, when i do have something indulgent, i will go overboard.
it can't be a 'diet' mentality for me.
it HAS to be a healthy lifestyle change.
that includes occassional treats.
i just NEED to learn moderation.
that is always so hard for me.

I started Jan'11, but had some issues (too low calories, so very limited weight loss, then the kids were ill for a month) that gave me a great excuse to not be on plan (at least in my head). I've been on plan (with the occasional treat day) for about a month, and have lost 14lbs since March 20, and a total of 25lbs. I have a long way to go, but I will be hitting my first mini-goal in juuuuuust under 5lbs.

__________________

"There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path, don't let yourself become one of them" ~Unknown

@ohmydogs, when you said "excuses not to be on plan" wow did that get my wheels spinnin!!! i had SO MANY EXCUSES it's not even funny! except that it IS kind of funny, especially reasons NOT TO WALK

I don't have the right outfit
I don't want to sweat in my jacket I wear normally
I don't have the right shoes
I don't have the right socks (yes socks)
I don't have the right music on my iPod
My iPod isn't charged, can't walk
It's too hot/cold/rainy/windy/humid/etc. Duh walk inside a mall, fool
I like this bra, I don't want to sweat on it (not kidding)

it was such a HUGE production getting out the door that first time LOL

I'm down about 127 lbs. I sort of started in September 2009, but didn't really hit full effort until January of 2010 (I decided to just have a goal of maintaining between T-day and Christmas, and I actually ended up losing a bit.) I eat plenty of "treats." I just stay within my calorie range when I do.

Amazing Trazey!
What kind of "diet" are you doing?
I am losing quite steadily and I am happy with it. My crucial weight will start at 194 lbs since I have never, never been below it. I can't even imagine how it will be. I just hope I won't be a total drag since so far actually I don't think it was hard. WW is very flexible and I don't see a reason to go off plan. Sometimes I would love a ton of chocolate but I can stick to one piece. As long as the scale (i.e. measurements) show that I am losing, I think I am fine.

__________________Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Can’t Lose*The sweat you see when working out is the fat crying*Pain is just weakness leaving the body*I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

My highest weight was 242lbs so that would be 42 pounds lost so far but January 25th- I officially started doing something about it with diet and exercise. I weighed in at 226lbs so that makes it about 26lbs lost since Jan 25th, 2011. Hoping to find myself in One-derland at tomorrow's weigh-in!

I'm also on WW like Josey- I do treat myself pretty often be it sweets or whatever. No real restrictions.

__________________Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.- Winston Churchill

Hey, amandie, we should start a club. I see we post a lot on the same threads and we started around the same time and are both on WW. :-)

__________________Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Can’t Lose*The sweat you see when working out is the fat crying*Pain is just weakness leaving the body*I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.